Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is directed to a low-profile, rotating-shaft transmission device for coupling opposed, non-intersecting, rotatable shafts so as to transmit torque therebetween.
Description of Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, an offset gearbox 1 may be implemented in instances requiring the transmission of torque between non-intersecting (i.e., offset) rotatable shafts, wherein the shafts may extend in different directions. Such a situation may be encountered, for example, in relation to drive mechanisms for wing flaps on aircraft, where the actuator 2 for the drive mechanism may be disposed within the fuselage. In such instances, the rotating shafts 3 necessary to operate the flaps must be directed away from the fuselage and about various structural aspects of the wing in order to extend into engagement with the flap. However, there may often be limited space or clearance area in which to implement the actuator and drive mechanism, particularly through the wing structure of such aircraft.
In some instances, such an offset gearbox 1 may implement an arrangement of conventional bevel gears (i.e., a bevel gear gearbox 10) in conjunction with and attached to a separate arrangement of spur gears (i.e., a spur gear gearbox 20), as shown, for example, in FIG. 2. In such instances, the bevel gear gearbox 10 and the spur gear gearbox 20 may be connected by way of a separate rotating shaft 30 between the output of the bevel gear gearbox and the input of the spur gear gearbox, with the cooperating gearboxes 10, 20 providing the desired offset.
Such conventional offset gearboxes, however, may be difficult to implement when the particular application is associated with limited space or tight clearance area, since the footprint, size (volume), and/or weight of a conventional offset gearbox may not be conducive to that application. Further, the limited space or tight clearance area may require a complex arrangement of shafts and gearboxes, which may also present, for example, efficiency, weight and cost challenges in the application.
As such, there exists a need for a rotating-shaft transmission device that addresses issues such as footprint, size (volume), weight, complexity and number of components, transmission efficiency, set-up requirements, and cost, which may be lacking in conventional arrangements using conventional offset gearboxes.